Monday, August 3, 2015

The Alastair Stone Chronicles by R. L. King: Character Interview with Excerpt

Interview with Dr. Alastair Stone, mage, professor of Occult Studies, British expat, and main character of Stone and a Hard Place and The Forgotten

Where do you dream of traveling to and why?

I’ve been doing a lot of research lately around other dimensions, and I often wonder how many of them are out there. So far, the ones I’ve visited haven’t been terribly pleasant, but I continue to hope that I might find something more hospitable someday.

Tell us about your family.

My parents both died many years ago—my father was a mage like me, and my mother was a business executive. Neither of them was terribly parental—I’m convinced that the only reason they decided to have a child at all was because my father wanted another mage in the family, and someone to pass the house on to. I spent most of my childhood in boarding schools until I started my apprenticeship at fifteen, and even when I came home for holidays, often my parents were off somewhere traveling on business.

Truthfully, the closest person I have to a family member these days is Aubrey, the caretaker of my home back in England. He looked after me when I was home as a child—and I suppose I could say he still looks after me a bit even now.

What was the scariest moment of your life?

Bit embarrassing, really: when I was a teenager and only a couple of years into my apprenticeship, I took my first trip through the Overworld (a sort of magical teleportation portal that mages use to go from place to place). It’s a fairly frightening place—you have to keep your wits about you or it could be quite dangerous—and…well…I sort of freaked out a bit. The people I was with had to knock me out before I ended up getting everyone killed. I’m fine now, but they still tease me about it, even after all these years.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

An adult. No, sorry—that’s not what you meant, is it? It’s true, though: I hated being a child. I suppose I always knew what I’d be when I grew up, since my father determined when I was very young that I’d inherited his magical ability. The Talent passes along gender lines, and even then, not always. But once I knew I had it, my future was mostly set. As I got older I discovered I had an interest in the mundane occult and a talent for teaching, so I ended up combining magical studies with that. I’ve got enough money that I don’t technically have to work, but I’d go mad—well, more so than I already am, anyway—if I didn’t have things to occupy my mind.

What songs are most played on your Ipod?

I don’t have an iPod, but I do like quite a lot of the classic British bands: Pink Floyd, Queen, the Zombies, the Animals, the Rolling Stones. I like to go to clubs and discover new music, so when I find something I like I add it to my collection. Not much of a fan of modern commercialised music, but I try to keep an open mind and I’ll give almost anything a go at least once.

What do you do to unwind and relax?

For me, work is relaxation. I like to putter around in my magical lab, researching new spells and rituals. I read a fair bit, and as I mentioned, I often go to local clubs looking for new music. Lately I’ve taken up the electric guitar again, but only in the privacy of my own home. I used to play in my University days, but I’ve let it slip so I’ve got a lot of catching up to do before I’ll inflict my efforts on anyone else. Oh—and I often go for long runs, usually late at night. I’m one of those annoying types who doesn’t gain weight, but I still like to keep in shape, and running helps me clear my mind.

Who should play you in a film?

I’ve been told I resemble David Tennant a bit. I suppose I could do quite a bit worse, and he does have experience playing sarcastic eccentrics, so there you go.

If I came to visit early in the morning would you impress me as being more like a chirpy bird or a grumpy bear?

Everyone who knows me knows that ringing me or coming to my door earlier than about ten a.m. is done at their peril. I tend to stay up quite late, so I only get up early when forced to. It usually takes two or three cups of weapons-grade coffee to jolt me into some semblance of humanity. I try to schedule all my classes so I don’t have to alter this habit. I think my students are grateful.

Do your friends think you are an introvert or an extravert? Why?

I’m actually a bit of an odd duck when it comes to that. At my core, I’m quite an introvert: I don’t like crowds, I despise small talk, and I need a lot of time on my own to recharge. However, when I’m teaching, it’s almost like I become a different person. False modesty aside, I’m told I’m a damn good lecturer, and I pride myself on putting on a good show to keep the students engaged. More than one person has told me I’d make a good actor, but that’s not something I have any interest in. I suppose the best way to describe me is that I’m an introvert who’s quite good at playing an extrovert on TV.

ABOUT THE BOOKS

The Alastair Stone Chronicles series

by R. L. King

BLURBS:

Dr. Alastair Stone, Occult Studies professor, powerful mage, and snarky British expat now based in Palo Alto, California, does his best to keep his academic and social lives separate from his increasingly frequent brushes with various malevolent forces from the supernatural side of the street. A little horror, a little humor, but mostly straight-up urban fantasy.

Stone and a Hard Place

==============

Dr. Alastair Stone, Occult Studies professor and powerful mage, has his hands full trying to keep the two sides of his life separate as he trains a new apprentice, deals with a malevolent entity trapped in the basement of a wealthy old woman's massive home, and battles dark mages intent on enslaving it for their own ends.

Dr. Alastair Stone is back, this time teaming up with Jason Thayer, a young man hunting for his missing sister. Embroiled in a web of odd homeless people, a growing conspiracy, and deadly danger, they soon realize that even if they find Jason's sister, they might not be able to help her.

What do you do when you discover an extradimensional plot that threatens the safety of the entire world, but you can't tell anyone about it because literally anyone on Earth could be part of it?

Stone stirred, opened his eyes. He was still where he thought he was, Megan’s cheek warm against his bare chest, his arm draped protectively over her back. He listened for a moment, then shook his head. He must have imagined it. Or maybe it was the wind. He glanced at the clock on the nightstand: 1:42 a.m.

Megan muttered something and snuggled closer to him, and he settled back.

“…I’m going to kill you, and everyone you ever cared about. As soon as I am free, I will rip their entrails from their bodies…”

His eyes flew open again. He sat up a little, looking around, then shifted to magical sight. Nothing was out of the ordinary on either the mundane or the magical plane. “Who’s there?” he whispered, not wanting to wake Megan.

“…I will flay your skin from your body, and boil your eyeballs until they pop. You will beg for death...”

Stone looked around, trying to identify the source of the voice. At first he saw nothing, but then a faint light caught the corner of his eye. He turned.

There was a crack in the door to his walk-in closet. A thin line of unhealthy-looking greenish light shone from it, creeping out into the room.

And the line was getting thicker.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

R. L. King is an award-winning author and game freelancer for Catalyst Game Labs, publisher of the popular roleplaying game Shadowrun. She has contributed fiction and game material to numerous sourcebooks, as well as one full-length adventure, "On the Run," included as part of the 2012 Origins-Award-winning "Runners' Toolkit."

Her first novel in the Shadowrun universe, Borrowed Time, was published in May 2015.

When not doing her best to make life difficult for her characters, King is a software technical writer for a large Silicon Valley database company. In her spare time (hah!) she enjoys hanging out with her very understanding spouse and her small herd of cats, watching way too much Doctor Who, and attending conventions when she can. She is an Active member of the Horror Writers' Association and the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, and a member of the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers.

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